Women's Soccer Remains At Home For Two Contests

*The Opening Kick: The Ferris State University women's soccer team continues Great Lakes Intercollegaite Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action at home this weekend, opening Friday, Sept. 21, against Northwood. Match time is set for 4 p.m. (ET). The Bulldogs will then compete against Saginaw Valley State on Sunday, Sept. 23. Match time is set for 12 p.m. (ET). Both outings will take place at the FSU Soccer Field.

*2012 Record: Ferris State is currently 2-3-1 overall and 1-1-0 in the GLIAC to date this season after a split this past weekend at home. FSU is coming off a 3-0 shutout over Ashland in league play this past Sunday (Sept. 16).

*The Coach: Ferris State - Matt Kellogg (Butler, 2000), third season, 16-21-7 (.443). Kellogg serves as the fourth head coach in the FSU women's soccer program's history. Under the direction of Kellogg, the Bulldogs held a 7-9-3 overall record and a 7-5-3 record in GLIAC match play last year. Prior to coaching at Ferris State, Kellogg spent the 2009 season as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Morehead (Ky.) State and quickly made an impact in his initial campaign as the Eagles captured the program's first-ever Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular-season championship.

*2012 GLIAC Coaches Poll: Ferris State was chosen to finish sixth in the GLIAC Preseason Women's Soccer Poll, which was released by the league office. The league's 14 head coaches participated in the balloting, but were not allowed to vote for their own team. Grand Valley State outdistanced Ohio Dominican by 23 points and collected 13 first-place votes en route to being the preseason league favorite.

*Returning Firepower: FSU welcomes back 15 letterwinners from a year ago for the program's 14th collegiate campaign, including 10 players with starting experience. The returnees include junior goalkeeper Rachel McCollum, who made 18 starts a year ago and finished with a 1.05 goals against average to go with 86 saves. Sophomore midfielder Stephanie Garland recorded 10 points as a rookie last year on three goals and four assists while junior midfielder Hillary Braun contributed a pair of goals.

*Back-To-Back Trips: Ferris State finished the 2011 campaign with a 7-9-3 overall record. Last fall's appearance in the conference tournament represented the program's fourth ever as the Bulldogs also made the tournament in 2007 and 2008 before the back-to-back trips in 2010 and 2011.

*2011 Season: Ferris State concluded the 2011 season with 7-9-3 overall record and 7-5-3 GLIAC record. It marked the second consecutive year in which the Bulldogs wrapped up the year with a 7-9-3 overall mark.

*FSU's 14th Season: The 2012 campaign represents Ferris State's 14th season of women's soccer. The Bulldogs own an all time mark of 95-123-20 (.441) to date since the program's inception in 1999. The 2003 (11-5-1) and 2005 (11-7-0) seasons hold the program's record for most victories in a single campaign.

*First Win at Home: The Bulldogs gained their first win at home after defeating Ashland last Sunday (Sept. 16), which was their second win of the season, by a score of 3-0. Sophomore Riley Wood scored the Bulldogs' first goal of the afternoon at 10:54 of the first half, with sophomore Stephanie Garland on the assist. Wood scored again at 39:53 with the assist coming from freshman forward Casey Shauman, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead going into the second half. Less than eight minutes left in the game, at 82:32, sophomore Leanne Boehm notched the Bulldogs' final goal of the afternoon off a free kick. Junior goalkeeper Rachel McCollum played the entire contest in net and saved five shots. The Bulldogs outshot the Eagles by an 11-9 count.

*Ferris Falls to Ohio Dominican: The Bulldogs fell to the Ohio Dominican Panthers in their home opener on Friday (Sept. 14). The Panthers scored during the first half of the game, and twice in the second half, to defeat the Bulldogs by a 3-0 margin. Sophomore Jenna Ruimveld attempted three shots, two of which were on goal. Junior Rachel McCollum played the entire contest and finished with five saves. Both teams had 14 shots on the night.

*Leading The Way: Bulldog freshman Casey Shauman leads the team with six points on the season and is tied for the squad lead in goals with two along with Riley Wood. FSU has had a total of six different players register its eight goals this campaign to date.

*Coming Up Next: This week's two contests wrap up a four-match homestand for the Bulldogs. FSU will play two on the road next week as the Bulldogs face league newcomers Walsh and Malone on Friday (Sept. 28) and Sunday (Sept. 30), respectively, in Canton, Ohio.

* Nearing The Top: Ferris State's Rachel McCollum moved into solo possession of second place among FSU's all-time goalkeeping leaders in victories by notching her 15th career win over Ashland on Sunday. A junior, she needs 17 more career wins to catch former Bulldog keeper Carla Gilbertson's school mark of 32 victories. McCollum ranks first in career shutouts (15) and is third in total saves (246) to date. She currently ranks second in the GLIAC with 44 total saves to date this season.

* Facing The Best: The Bulldogs have played two of the nation's top teams this season. FSU battled to a 0-0 double-overtime tie versus then third-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) on Sept. 2 at the Grand Valley State Kickoff Tournament in Allendale. Then, last Wednesday (Sept. 12), the Bulldogs suffered a 1-0 loss to then third-ranked GVSU in a non-league game on its home field. Both AASU and GVSU reached the national semifinals a year ago with the Lakers finishing as the national runner-up.

The Opponents:

Northwood: The Timberwolves currently own a 2-3-0 record for the 2012 season with wins recently against Walsh and Malone for a 2-0 GLIAC ledger. This is the second season for head coach Dean Pappas, who led NU to an overall record of 5-11 in his first season.

Saginaw Valley: Saginaw Valley State currently holds an overall record of 2-1-2 for the season and is 1-0-1 in league action. The wins for the Cardinals came against Malone and Northwood with the most recent game ending in a 2-2 double overtime tie against Walsh. This season is the 11th for head coach Drago Dumbovic.

Last Year: Ferris State faced both teams twice a year ago. The Bulldogs fell to Northwood by a 3-1 count in Big Rapids (9/11/11), but responded by posting a 1-0 win over the Timberwolves at Midland (10/9/11). The Bulldogs swept Saginaw Valley State as FSU beat the Cardinals 3-1 at home (9/9/11) and also won 1-0 in overtime at University Center (10/7/11).